In the Image and Likeness of God

by Vladimir Lossky, John Meyendorff (Introduction), John H. Erickson (Editor)

Vladimir Lossky established himself as one of the most brilliant Orthodox scholars in the years between his departure from Russia in 1923 and his death in 1958. His uncompromising faithfulness to scriptural and patristic tradition, coupled with his constant concern for an articulate Orthodox witness in the West, make his works indispensable for an understanding of the theology of the Eastern Church today. Here, in twelve essays, he explores the implications of the Orthodox understanding of man's destiny - communion in love with triune God. Concerned with the fundamental questions of theology, Lossky addresses the can we really know God? How are we to understand the relation of creation to the Creator? Where is it that we are to find the heart of the Christian message? In the process of answering questions such as these, the author shows the doctrinal issues are not just abstract propositions for theological debate but affect the whole of Church life.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christianity, Christian, Nonfiction, Spirituality, God

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential 20th century Eastern Orthodox theologian.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone tells you that they've read this book once and absorbed it all fully, I suspect they didn't think it through - either that or they happen to be a theological prodigy. I'm definitely going to have to let this marinate internally and then come back and re-read it later. This text is I think one you can come back to several times and always find something you had missed. I found some valuable insights and a number of concepts that clarified questions I had myself. I can wholeheartedly recommend this for anyone that is interested in Orthodox theology, whether the advanced inquirer or someone looking to deepen their understanding of the faith they have held for all their lives. Lossky will not fail to enlighten!

One thing to note is that this is not intended to be a full-fledged systematic theology. If you want proof texts I would suggest looking first in the footnotes, and then looking through the last two thousand years of Orthodox literature and teaching. The Fathers of the Church and the Church itself have lived and breathed the Holy Spirit, and the 'proof' of Lossky's assertions I believe lies fully in that Tradition and history.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fairly heavy book. It is a collection of essays written by Vladimir Lossky, a noted Orthodox Theologian of the early to mid 1900s. The essays each stand on their own, but are all tied around the title image and likeness. A lot to take in here, not for the casual enquirer.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am writing this as an outsider to the Orthodox tradition. I tried to read this as sympathetically and charitably as possible. I am not arguing for his position, merely stating his conclusions because of space limitations.

Lossky gives a complex and thorough introduction and defense of Orthodox theology. He sets forth the Orthodox case as apophatic: we know God by predicating of him what is not the case.

Lossky places himself in the Palamite tradition and makes a distinction between God's energies and God's essence. We cannot know God in his essence, but we know his energies (and, I suppose, we participate in his energies).

Lossky opposes the Filoque clause as it makes the relations between the members of the Godhead impersonal. Rather, following the East, Lossky argues for the Father as the fountain and source of the Godhead.

His take on tradition is interesting. He rightly critiques Rome for setting up their tradition as an autonomous check on Scripture. This the Orthodox does not do. They rather see Tradition as the Holy Spirit living in the Church.

Evaluation:
This book was tightly-argued, very clear, and very compelling. Lossky is hard-hitting. I will not critique him but will point to some critiques of him. Robert Letham (* The Holy Trinity*) has summarized some good critiques of Lossky's Trinitarianism.

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was difficult to understand, even for me. His "Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church" was much more informative and a pleasure to read.

[John Hayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broadening my theological reading even further, I found Vladimir Lossky’s reflections in “In the image and likeness of God” of what it means for us to become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) the most interesting; but gained little from the case for considering Tradition equal to (or greater than) the Scriptures or the sections on iconography and Mariology.

[TheRabbidCow]

Essay #8
Tradition and traditions

[w gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tough read - in-depth Orthodox Christian theology. If you're looking to go deeper into theology, this is what you're looking for.

[Gwynfor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a TERRIBLE book, the most ill-conceived, self-contradictory tome on the subject it has ever been my misfortune to encounter. Lossky makes sweeping statements without a shred of evidence for them with a breath-taking non-chalance that virtually left me with the feeling that he felt he was speaking "ex cathedra," a man who had begun to believe his own legend in his own time and his own mind because there were not enough actual scholars working in English at the time to challenge him. Of course, that's still true of most Eastern Orthodox "authorities" working in English to this day, and small surprise, since most of them are produced by the institution on which he and others of his generation (particularly Florovsky) left their mark so indelibly and where they left such a questionable legacy, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.

[Marcelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't get enough of this theologian's works, his insightful writings are pure genius.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good to read theology form other traditions, and this was basically helpful in the way it articulated the image of God in terms of the Trinity and what the personhood of God means.